The year: 2023

Oadley,
Albion

[Marty's POV]

The past month seemed to slip by in a daze. As in, I was literally in a daze most of the time while working in the café. 

However, there were two things I was grateful for. The first was that the amulet had not warmed up since my first day back from Lastshire. Dwight had kept his word of coming by whenever he had time to fix the window. Surprisingly, his visits led to us forming the kind of friendship I had only witnessed in bromantic K-dramas. We laughed at the silliest of things, called each other the corniest of names, threw insults at each other in jest, and shared our feelings occasionally (well, he did most of the sharing). Sometimes his eyes took on an empty look, but it was always blink and miss, and he immediately covered it up with a wisecrack or a charming smile. When I asked why that was, he replied that there was just something about me that he found very familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. 

The only thing that stopped me from opening up to him and letting him into my secret world of magic was Master Merlin's warning, which I had begun to doubt. 

The other incredibly awesome thing that had happened was that whatever magic spell master and mistress had put on Dragon's Den had passed, and we were back to entertaining our regulars, much to Henkley's chagrin. 

Obviously, he had blamed all of it on the substandard food, the mediocre (nonalcoholic) drinks, the broken bulb in the loo that I hadn't fixed (it had stopped working a year ago, but whatever), and Kubera's evil eye (there was no such thing, the God of wealth was a pretty chill dude if sacred texts were to be believed). 

Henkley's bad mood had carried into his relationship with Meenakshi, who had seen the error of her ways and broken up with him after he had called her naggy and blamed her father's precious ladoos- which were our most ordered item- calling the dessert a bad-luck magnet. 

Unfortunately, the breakup had not gone smoothly. Henkley, despite Meenakshi's refusal, continued to stalk her, going as far as to harass her with late-night calls and pervy texts. 

Today, as Henkley was closing up for the night, I could sense his restlessness. Ignoring him, I finished up my chores. 

A few minutes later, I heard a commotion and peeped through my kitchen window. I noticed Henkley following Meenakshi from the shadows. I was about to call out and warn her, but I caught Dwight jumping in to save her honor. Well, at least that's what I think he intended to do. Unlike me, Dwight didn't know what Meenakshi was capable of (she was one of the elite members of the reigning queen's bodyguards). Thus, before he could display his gentlemanly valor and save the damsel in distress, she swung her handbag and hit Henkley square in the jaw while Dwight watched the scene unfold, frozen midway of a karate-chop pose. 

I don't know if Henkley had been advised to get his wisdom tooth removed, but it didn't matter now, for Meenakshi had taken the choice out of his hand. Alas, it had taken two of his wisdom teeth and a pint of blood for Henkley to finally get it into his stupid head that Meenakshi and him were over for good.

After the stalker had left, muttering an apology and promising to never bother her again, Meenakshi had turned around and thanked Dwight for his noble sentiments.

Witnessing this rather thrilling incident and the awkward meeting that followed, I could not help but invite Meenakshi and Dwight over to my apartment (from where he had left barely minutes ago after working on my broken window for the day. Yep, it was still not fixed, and I was beginning to worry that I had entrusted this most crucial job to a total imbecile).

Though all of us were (varying degrees of) tired, the adrenaline coursing through our veins had us recounting and reliving Henkley's moment of shame over a good laugh, alcohol (for the men) and milk (for the lady).

Meanwhile, my masters- who were waiting for me to open the gateway like we had been doing at night for the past four weeks- lay forgotten. 

It was two in the morning when the duo left. I could sense the beginning of a friendship (or possibly something more) as Dwight offered Meenakshi a ride home, which she refused, citing that she lived close.

Bidding the two farewell, I walked inside the closet feeling warm and fuzzy but a little hurt at the same time. I had never felt so confused in my life. I reckoned if I was going insane. 

Whatever I was feeling did not last. No sooner did I enter the closet than my master yelled, 'Do you think you can afford to waste time on frivolous things like partying!? That too with a girl, no less!' he reprimanded. However, Mistress Morgana came to my defense immediately, 'Merlin, stop being so mean to him. He is doing his best. By the way, it seems you have forgotten the nights we spent… ' She left the sentence hanging. 

Master Merlin fell mute as well. The deafening silence stretched till I couldn't bear it anymore. I cleared my throat, "I am sorry. It won't happen again. There are still hours left. We can go there now."

I did not expect Merlin to decline, 'Go to bed, Marty. Morgana is right. Sometimes I indeed forget that you are not just our apprentice. There is a whole other world that you belong in. A world we are not a part of,' he said, voice choked with guilt and remorse. 

He was telling the truth, but I felt I had let him down. From what Mistress Morgana had disclosed to me in our one-on-one time, Master Merlin had done everything he could to keep the Wyllt family safe over the centuries. His constant vigilance over us left him tired. 

Why the sorcerer loved to sleep; why he never once took credit for what he had done for us; and the weight his heart carried after he had failed to protect Arthur, mistress had revealed it all. 

Even though he had said nothing and hidden his pain behind a mask of cockiness, shrewdness, and mischief, after knowing everything, I couldn't help but respect and pity him. 

Master Merlin had not shied away from shielding Mistress either; every time I complained about her, he mentioned (in passing, for he didn't think he had the right to divulge her private matters) how the sorceress had gone through more than her share of trials and tribulations and how her hard, piercing words hid her gentle, vulnerable heart. 

The gravity of what each had told me about the other and my actions just now sunk in, drowning me in shame. And it was at this precise moment that I truly accepted them as my masters and became my masters' apprentice.